Twin single-tkigger



Sepia 12, W39,

Axis Jbp Barrel F. T. FAHLEN TWIN SINGLE TRIGGER DEVICE Filed March 30, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 barrel RIGHT HAMMER g FIRING Pos/ T/ON Sam. 12, 1939. F. T. FAHLEN 2372,72

TWIN SINGLE TRIGGER-DEVICE Filed March 30, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LEFTMQMMER R16 l-IT/l'AMMER LEFT TRIGGER RETURNED AFTER FIRING POSITION RIG/ 7' HAMMER Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES FATENT QFFIQE 12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in small firearms, more especially in shot guns of both the over-and-under and parallel horizontal barrel types. More specifically, the improvement resides in the single-trigger device which permits the firing of the gun barrels by successive pulls uponthe same selected trigger. This makes it possible for the shooter to shoot more quickly and effectively by tending to avoid impairing his aim by having to shift from one trigger to the other.

But in order to accomplish the latter purpose to virtual perfection it is necessary to safe-guard against the almost invariable involuntary second or reflected pull upon the trigger which, when it occurs, fires the second barrel against the will of the shooter. Since this involuntary pull follows close upon the initial and intentional pull it is readily seen that a second shell willbe wasted many; times. With this preamble in mind, the objects of the invention are as follows First, to provide a single-trigger device wherein an arc of idle motion of the trigger can and does occur, affording a dead area, so to speak, which is adapted to dissipate the involuntary second pull of the selected trigger and therefore prevent the unwantedfiring of the second barrel.

Second, toso coordinate the action of the single-trigger mechanism on the first pull of a selected trigger as toinsure the sear being tripped and the detent well in position before the latch is raised tolrelease the auxiliary sear, the function of restraining the auxiliary sear then being diverted from the latch to the detent.

Third, to definitely defer the functioning of the single-trigger mechanism during the period of the first pull of the selected triggerand during the immediately succeeding period of relaxation and involuntary second pull of said trigger, this being accomplished by the intervening detent, as fully disclosed below.

Fourth, to fit out a gun of either of the two types with a single-trigger device without having to change the action of the safety device originally in the gun, and without either inletting the gun stock or in any waymutilating its mechanism.

Fifth, to provide a. single-trigger device which can readily be installed and'removed from a'gun, the latter functioning as it did originally after said device has been removed.

Sixth, to provide a single-trigger device which has simplicity as one of its advantages, making. for easy installation and maintenance.

Seventh, to provide a single-trigger device which is subject to low cost of manufacture, and therefore readily embodied in a gun without materially increasing the cost thereof.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, reference being had 55 to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the receiver of 21. Remington over-and-under firearm, illustrating the single-trigger device in the cocked position of the hammers, with the safety lever moved 10 forward out of the safety position.

Figure 2 is a partially sectional and elevational view illustrating the change of position of the parts after the first pull of the selected left trigger.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view, parts being in elevation, illustrating the same structure and position in Fig. 2.

Figure 4is a perspective view of the latch.

Figure 5 is a perspective View of the auxiliary sear.

Figure 6 is a perspective View of the detent.

Figure 7 is a view, the sequence of Figs. 2 and 3, illustrating a further change in position of parts after the releaseof the initially pulled left trig ger.

Figure 8 is a view illustrating a still further change in the position of the parts following the second intentional pull of the selected left trigger.

Figure 9 is a plan view of themechanism in Fig. 8, a portion of the receiver being shown: in section.

The improved single-trigger device is shown herein as embodiediin a familiartype of small firearm, namely, the Remington over-and-under shot gun. This type of gun is herein adopted mainly for the purpose of illustration but his to. be understood that the principle of the single-trigger device is applicable to guns other than these, such as those that have two or morehorizontal barrels.

In the drawings, the receiver is. designated l, the right and left hammers 2, 3, right and left sears 4, 5 and the right and left triggers 6, I. Each of the hammers 2, 3 is spring-pressure operated, but inasmuch as thespecific manner in which the hammers are operated does not concern the invention, the illustration is omitted.

In Figs. 1.130 9 the hammers 2, 3 have lugs 8, 9 (Fig. 7) with which the hooks l0; ll (Figs. 8 and '7) engage to hold them in the cocked positions. The sear fingers I 2, l3 of the right and left sears 4, 5, have confronting studs l4, [5. The triggers 6, I have blades [6, I! which, in the in stance of the left trigger 1 herein selected for operation, has a lift cam I8 (Fig. 7) and a lift heel IS. A pulling of the selected left trigger 1 turns the respective left sear 5 by virtue of its cam l8 bearing up against the sear (arrow a, Fig. 2) releasing the left hammer 3 so that it moves toward the firing position (arrow 21) The customary cocking lever 29 (Fig. 1) operates upon a spring-held stem 2! which is capped at 22 to engage the depending lug 23 of the finger-piece 24. The purpose of the cap 22 is to extend the stem 2! and to increase its extent of setting motion. In this particular disclosure the cocking of the gun by means of the lever 2!! drives the stem 2| and cap 22 backwards, the fingerpiece 24 being reset by this act.

The safety lever rod 25 has an abutment 26 'on each side, these'abutments' being conventionally used as means for locking the scars when the gun is in the safety position, but herein put to the additional purpose of a means for restoring the auxiliary sear, later described, to a latched position wherein said auxiliary sear is stationed out of the range of movement of the primarily pulled selected trigger. With respect to the previously mentioned conventional use of the abutments 26, it can be understood from Fig. 1 that when these occupy a position beneath the confronting studs l4, l5, following the cocking of the gun, they prevent displacement of either sear 4, 5 when pulling the respective trigger. The gun is moved off of safety, so to speak, by pushing the finger piece 24 forwardly, and this is the position shown in Fig. 1.

Reference is now made to the single-trigger device. This is generally designated 27. It comprises three main elements, the latch 23 (Fig. 4), the auxiliary sear 29 (Fig. 5) and the detent 33 (Fig. 6). The latch 28 is of rectangular form, comprising the side bars SI and the bridge pieces 32, 33. It is the forward bridge piece 32 that actually functions as the latch because it is this that drops into a notch provided in the auxiliary sear 29 for the purpose. A pin 34 is fitted across the side bars 3|. The rear bridge 33 has a spring mount 35.

The auxiliary sear 29 has a pair of arms 35 and a shoulder 31. These parts are vertically spaced to define a slot 38. Actually this slot is cut into what might be called a head 39, and both the arms and shoulder are formed by doing the cutting. The latter, however, also includes the making of a passageway 48 which is. necessary to accommodate the safety member 25 when the latter is moved backward into the safety position.

A tail piece 4| depends from the head 39. This is fairly thin, and is centered with respect to the head. It is notched at 42 to receive the latch bridge 32. It has a pin 43 which operates as a guide. The tail piece has an upright slot 44 which defines a forward lug 45 that plays a very important function in the operation of the single-trigger device because it is partly through the instrumentality of this lug that the single-trigger device is held back (Fig. 3) during the period of involuntary vibration of the selected trigger (the left trigger in this instance) following the first and intentional pull.

The detent 30 is the other element which figures in bringing about the foregoing function. It comprises a block 46 which has arms 41 that are bridged by a cross pin 48. The open center 45, which is defined by the arms 41, accommodates the auxiliary sear 29. A standard 50 is secured to the trigger plate 5| of the receiver l by a screw 52 which is driven into place as shown (Fig. 3). This standard has a hole 53 to receive the pin 34 and provide a pivot for the latch 28.

Said standard also has a recess 54 (Fig. 3) for the reception of the lower end of a spring 55. The upper end of this spring engages the mount 35 and tends to keep the latch bridge 32 in the notch 42. A bore 56 contains the pin 43, and is sufficiently oversized to allow the requisite amount of loose up and down motion of the auxiliary sear 29 that occurs when the single-trigger device is worked. A spring 57, on the pin 43 between the tail piece 4! and the standard 5!), tends to keep the auxiliary sear pressed forwardly. A spring wire is threaded through holes 58 in the detent 39 (Fig. 6) and through 2. lug 59 that is part of the standard 50 (Fig. 3) and the other end 6! so bent as to be anchored in a supplemental hole 62 in the detent 32. The tension of this spring is downward, and its purpose is to keep the arms 41 in constant engagement with the heel IQ of the trigger 'l', as well as with the heel of the corresponding trigger 6.

In reference to the embodiment of the invention to the Remington over-and-under shot gun, it is thought not necessary to illustrate much more of the mechanism involved than is shown by the right and left hammers 2, 3. But for the purpose of identification the axes of the overand-under top and bottom barrels are designated 53, 6t (Fig. i), and the respective firing pins65, 655. The pulling of the left trigger I releases the left hammer 3 for the striking of the firing pin 65 to discharge the shell of the bottom barrel 64.

1; this point the sequential operation of the single-trigger device is described. In Fig. 1 both hammers 2, 3 are cocked and ready to fire. The person about to do the shooting can put his finger upon either trigger 6, l, and by intentionally pulling the same trigger twice will fire the two barrels in succession.

The auxiliary sear 29 is held in its farthest back position by the latch 28 (Fig. 4). The detent 35 is in its farthest down position, the arms 41 resting commonly upon the heels of the two triggers. The left trigger is selected for the purpose of this illustration. Fig. 2 illustrates the first intentional pull of the left trigger 1. The hammer 3 is released by the previously described action at the arrows a, b. The heel l9 raises the detent 30 by bearing up against the arms 41 (ar-v row 0). The detent raises the latch 28 (arrow d). The consequent release of the auxiliary sear 29 permits the spring 51 to push the former. forwardly, but the amount of forward motion is slight because the pin 43 will already have assumed an intercepting position (compare Figs. 1 and 2).

Before going farther it is important to explain the coordination between the. parts mentioned, which takes place at this particular stage. The sear 5 (Fig. 2) must be tripped, and the detent 38 (its pin .48) must be well in position (Fig. 2) before the latch 28 is released. In fact the latch is not released until the trigger 1 has been pulled almost to the limit. This is necessary in order to hold back the single-trigger device. From this it will be understood that the singletrigger device does not function in the first pull of the selected trigger. Y

After the first barrel has been fired there is a recoil of the gun against the shoulder of the shooter which, in effect, compels him to put pressure upon the trigger again. This is the involuntary second pull, and a common fault of known single-trigger devices is that this involuntary second pull will cause the firing of the second barrel immediately upon the firing of the first barrel so that in most instances the second shot is wasted.

The instant single-trigger device guards against this contingency by providing an arc of idle motion (Fig. 3). This is a neutral zone, so to speak, and it is ample enough to let the shooters finger vibrate upon the trigger during the period of the involuntary second pull, and to so dissipate the effect of said involuntary second pull as not to fire the second shell. In Fig. 3 it will be seen that as the left trigger i vibrates to the extent of the designated are of idle motion, the detent pin 68 will vibrate with it because of the arm being held down against the heel l9.

As long as the pin '38 stays in front of the lug 45 the auxiliary sear 29 will be held back. The lug 45 is made fairly long. It is long enough to anticipate the extent of the involuntary pull, for which reason it provides an adequate protection against the functioning of the single-trigger device until the selected left trigger is voluntarily returned to its starting position (Fig. '7).

In Fig. '7 the detent pin $3 is shown as having dropped below the auxiliary sear 29. Since the lug 35 is thus cleared, the auxiliary sear is moved forwardly until the detent pin assumes a registering position with the slot 45 and the confronting studs M, 15 assume a sequestered relationship to the slot 38. By reason of this the motion of the two sears is thereafter coordinated or synchronized. The left sear (Fig. '7) becomes the medium by which the right sear (Fig. 8) is actuated by the second pull of the selected left trigger 1 through the intervention of th sequestering auxiliary sear head 39.

Figure 8 illustrates this second pull. The left sear 5 (Fig. 7) is now omitted, but a repeated cam action upon said sear depresses the stud 15 of that sear, and through said depression the head 39 is also depressed (arrow 6, Fig. 8). This rocks the right sear L and causes the release of the right hammer 2 so that the other barrel is fired. In this act the detent pin d8 rides upward in the slot 4G, serving no other purpose than to possibly prevent the auxiliary sear 29 from going too far forward. This, however, would not be an objection because the studs 14, i5 naturally limit this motion.

I claim:

1. In a double-barreled firearm having hammers for the respective barrels, sears to hold the hammers cocked, and a trigger to be intentionally pulled to actuate one sear, release the respective hammer and fire the respective barrel, an auxiliary sear having sequestering means adapted to couple the sears, means tending to move the auxiliary sear into the sequestering position, a lug depending from the auxiliary sear into proximity to the trigger, and a detent which is moved by the trigger upon its initial pull, into a position in front of the lug so as to obstruct the auxiliary sear and postpone its sequestering function.

Z. In a double-barreled fire arm having hammers for the respective barrels, sears to hold the hammers cooked, and a trigger to be intentionally pulled to actuate one sear, release the respective hammer and fire the respective barrel, an auxiliary sear having sequestering means adapted to couple the sears, a standard which is fixed in respect to the trigger, and which loosely carries the auxiliary sear, a spring acting between the standard and auxiliary sear tending to move the auxiliary sear into its sequestering position, a lug projecting from the auxiliary sear into proximity to the trigger, and'a detent movably carried by the standard, housing the auxiliary sear and having a pin which is moved by the trigger on its initial pull into an obstructing position in front of the lug, providing for a riding of the lug against the pin while the trigger is vibrated during an involuntary after-pull.

3. In a double-barreled firearm having hammers for the respective barrels, sears to hold the hammers cocked, and a trigger to be intentionally pulled to actuate one sear, release the respective hammer and fire the respective barrel, an auxiliary'sear having sequestering means adapted to couple the sears, a latch engaging and holding the auxiliary sear, a standard carrying the auxiliary sear and latch, a spring abutting the standard and tending to move the auxiliary sear into its sequestering position, a lug forming part of the auxiliary sear, and a detent carried by the standard having at least one arm engaging the trigger and being formed to displace the latch from the auxiliary sear after the trigger has actuated the respective sear on the intentional first pull, a pin carried by said arm, the pin then being in position in font of the lug to temporarily obstruct the auxiliary sear.

4. In a double-barreled firearm having'hammers for the respective barrels, sears to hold the hammers cooked, and a trigger to be intentionally pulled to actuate one sear, release the respective hammer and fire the respective barrel, a pivoted detent having an open center defining arms, a pin bridging the arms, a spring acting upon the detent to keep the arms of the detent constantly in contact with the trigger so that the detent is raised when the trigger is pulled, an auxiliary sear loosely mounted in the open center of the detent, said auxiliary sear having a depending lug and sequestering means which is adapted to couple the sears, guide means by which the auxiliary sear is supported independently of the trigger, a spring embodied in the support tending to move the auxiliary sear into the sequestering position, and a latch which engages the auxiliary sear to hold it back until the trigger has actuated said one sear and has elevated the detent pin into an obstructing position in front of the lug, said detent raising the latch to release the auxiliary sear for subsequent motion.

5. In a single-trigger device, an auxiliary sear which comprises a head having an upright passage and a horizontal slot defining a pair of arms and a shoulder, a tail-piece depending from the head, being notched on one of its edges and slotted in from another edge to define a lug, and a pin projecting from the tail piece and in the common plane thereof to form part of guide means.

6. In a double-barreled firearm having hammers for the respective barrels, a pair of sears to hold the hammers cocked, said sears having confronting pins, and triggers for the respective sears, an auxiliary sear having a forked element in line broadside with the collective pins, means tending to push said auxiliary sear toward said pair of sears so as to embrace both pins with the forked element, latch means initially restraining said auxiliary sear to resist the push thereagainst, and means operable by the initial pull on one of the triggers to serially displace the latch means from its restraining position and to temporarily stop the auxiliary sear short of its forked element embracing said pins.

7. In a fire-arm, the combination of twin harnmers, twin sears to hold the hammers cocked, and twin triggers, one of which is adapted to be selected for operation to displace the respective sear and release the respective hammer, an auxiliary sear which is subject to movement to actuate the second one of the twin sears by an intentional repetition of the pull on the selected trigger, and a safety lever rod having means to conventionally lock the twin sears against displacement by the triggers when in a safety position, said auxiliary sear approaching said conventional means at the end of its aforesaid movement so as to stand in the way of said conventional means for a return and resetting movement when said lever rod is restored to the safety position.

8. In a double-barreled firearm having hammers for the respective barrels, sears to hold the hammers cocked, and a trigger to be intentionally pulled to actuate one sear, release the respective hammer and fire the respective barrel, an auxiliary sear to actuate the second sear by intentionally repeating the pull upon said trigger, means pivoted adjacent to the trigger and which is constantly held against the trigger to ride said trigger to rise and fall therewith, and means embodied in said auxiliary sear being engageable with the first means and obstructed thereby during the period of involuntary vibration of the trigger immediately following the first pull thereof.

9. In a double-barreled firearm having hammers for the respective barrels, a pair of sears to hold the hammers cocked, said sears having confronting pins, and a trigger to be intentional- 1y pulled to actuate one sear, release the respective hammer and fire the respective barrel, a detent pivoted adjacent to the trigger and having a cross pin, means to constantly hold the detent against the trigger, so as to move with the trigger, an auxiliary sear having a forked element in line with the collective pins to couple the pair of sears, a lug depending from the auxiliary sear, and means urging the detent toward the trigger to initially engage the lug with the cross pin to postpone the coupling function of said forked element during the involuntary afterpull of the trigger following the initial pull.

10. In a double-barreled firearm having hammers for the respective barrels, sears to hold the hammers cocked, and a selectable trigger to be pulled to actuate one sear, release the respective hammer and fire the respective barrel, an auxiliary sear having sequestering means adapted to embrace portions of both sears to so couple the sears as to make them move as one, and a detent movable into position between the selected trigger and auxiliary sear during the initial pull of said trigger to postpone the coupling function.

11. In a single-trigger device, a latch comprising a rectangular frame consisting of side bars and a pair of bridge pieces, pivot means common to both side bars, and a spring mount projecting from one of the bridge pieces and includ ing a portion upon which a spring is adapted to be anchored.

12. In a double-barreled firearm having hammers for the respective barrels, sears to hold the hammers cocked, said sears having confronting pins, and triggers for the respective sears, an auxiliary sear having an embracing portion adapted to sequester the confronting pins on the sears, means holding the auxiliary sear in a retreated position prior to and during the initial pull of a selected one of the triggers, detent means maintaining the auxiliary sear in said retreated position, riding both triggers and describing an arc of idle motion consonant with the vibration of the selected trigger during an involuntary after-pull thereof, and means advancing the auxiliary sear from its retreated position into a position of sequestration of both sears by said embracing portion at the end of said involuntary after-pull.

FREDERICK T. FAHLEN. 

